Jesse Taylor, the bad boy best known for getting booted out of the UFC by Dana White on Season 8 of The Ultimate Fighter, will fight on TV for the first time since leaving the UFC Monday, taking on Dong Sik Yoon at Dream 10 in Japan. Taylor says he's ready.
"This is my livelihood," Taylor said. "I love to fight. I'm really happy to be fighting in Japan. It's a dream to fight in Dream, so I'm pretty stoked."
Most American fans probably thought they had seen the last of Taylor when he lost to CB Dollaway at the UFC Fight Night event last summer, but in reality he's 6-0 since losing to Dollaway and has finished five of his opponents. He's a 26-year-old who's still improving, and I'm looking forward to seeing what he does in Dream.
Overall, although I don't consider Monday's card to be one of Dream's best, there's a lot here for American fans to like. Dream 10 features the semifinals and finals of the Dream welterweight Grand Prix, and Top 5 lightweight Shinya Aoki will take on Vitor Ribeiro. Throw in the always excellent announcing of Michael Schiavello, and I'd have to say that if you like MMA and you have HDNet, you need to watch Monday morning.
Hat tip: Jim Murphy at The Savage Science.